My Forum

Give the guy a break, he's just answered some questions. I'm taking part in the run and found it interesting. Don't be so touchy about an expression, I'm sure it wasn't meant as a personal dig at anyone.

I was quite surprised by the times Iwan's achieved for 10k, I'd expected him to be quicker. Perhaps he's not training to seriously and is enjoying the event, without the pressure of needing to achieve a certain time to secure sponsorship, meet a qualifying standard and secure a place in the British team = "fun".

Name:Michael GreenhalghBrief running history:This is my 5th Great North run in a row and I've run a couple of Great Manchester runs too. I ran my first GNR as a stepping stone to running the London Marathon before I turned 30. I'm 31 now and still haven't done it. I love running the GNR though and keep coming back each year. I enjoy the atmosphere you get running in such a huge event and like Newcastle.Reason why we should train you:I'm rubbish at training and could really benefit from some good advice and a dose of motivation. I always start out with good intentions, but end up wishing I'd trained more. The 1st GNR I did I trained too late and finished in around 2 hrs 10. The 2nd GNR I drank too much before the race, had to make a pit stop and my knee locked up, so I hobbled the rest of the course 3hrs +. I think I'd injured my knee going off too quick and trying to run round people at the start by jumping up the kerbs. The 3rd run was better but I still finished in over 2 hrs, again my training had been poor. Then last June I tore my ankle ligaments playing football, so I had an excuse for taking it easy. I started off slowly and accidentally paced my run better than ever, but my split times showed I tired dramatically when I got to the hills at around 10 miles, I finished in just over 2 hours again.As you can tell I would really benefit from some decent training Half-marathon goal:1 hour 45 mins. I know that sounds ambitious, but I've run the Manchester 10k in around 48 mins twice. I've just started the Runners World Smart Coach 16 week training plan and met all my goals for the 1st week (ran 21miles). I reckon with some proper training I can easily go under 2 hours and why set a goal that's not a challenge?